Rutgers gains revenge on South Florida, moves on to play for WNIT championship

By making the most of its shot at revenge, the Rutgers women’s basketball team has made the most of its first-ever appearance in the WNIT.

Almost a month after suffering a NCAA Tournament bubble-bursting home loss to South Florida in the regular-season finale, Rutgers showed just how far it has come late in the season courtesy of the WNIT by never trailing over the final 24 minutes of a 62-52 victory at USF in the semifinals.

“The Scarlet Knights, you don’t hit us once and then come back and get us again,” coach C. Vivian Stringer told reporters in postgame press conference. “It does not happen.”

Rutgers, which lost to Tennessee in the 2007 NCAA Tournament final and hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since 2009, will visit either UTEP or South Dakota State at 3 p.m. Saturday in the championship game.

The Rutgers Dance Marathon is scheduled for Saturday at the Louis Brown Athletic Center and both of the other remaining semifinalists are drawing larger average crowds during the postseason.

“This is the first time in my life that we’ve played in the WNIT but I am appreciative and grateful for this opportunity for this young team to get this kind of experience,” Stringer said. “It’s run in a first-class way. This is perfect for us and perfect for our preparation for what’s going to be the future.”

It was Rutgers’ second win of the season in Tampa, where it won in December. Winners of 10 of its previous 11 games, Jose Fernandez-coached USF (23-13) finished one spot ahead of Rutgers (27-9) in the American Athletic Conference, which sent only national powers Connecticut and Louisville to the Big Dance.

“It was a joke, anyway, Period,” Stringer said of being left out of the NCAA Tournament. “(Fernandez) knows it and I know it. Both of these teams deserved to be in the NCAAs. I’m not buying anything that anybody has to say. But we can’t do anything about that. This is now.”

“Obviously we wanted to beat them because they beat us at our home,” said Scaife, who talked postgame for the first time during her standout freshman season.

Rutgers (27-9) shot 49 percent from the floor – up from 32.3 last game – led by Hollivay’s 6-of-7 effort and held a 44-35 edge on the glass. USF shot 31.3 percent and scored 16 points fewer than its average.

“We know that we win games when we outrebound our opponents,” Copper told reporters. “We had to make sure we kept them off the glass because last time they had too many second-chance opportunities.”

Scaife snapped the final tie of the game with a jump shot for a 34-32 lead early in the second half and Rutgers extended its lead to a then-game-high eight points, 52-44, with less than five minutes to go.

“This is a very well-coached team and a very good team,” Stringer said of USF. “It was a tremendous challenge and there was a lot on the line. It was an opportunity for us to play for (a) championship. We were very driven – as anybody would be.”

About Ryan Dunleavy

Ryan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.

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About the Author

Jerry CarinoJerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.E-mail Jerry

Josh NewmanJosh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004 and began covering Shore Conference sports full time in September 2006. He is a 2004 graduate of Springfield College with a degree in communications/sports journalism.E-mail Josh

Ryan DunleavyRyan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.E-mail Ryan